Sefton Central Labour MP Bill Esterson set to raise concerns abo

Sefton Central Labour MP Bill Esterson is set to slam the Tory-Lib Dem Government for failing to deal with the A&E crisis in a Parliamentary debate tomorrow.

Bill has consistently raised concerns for the past 18 months as growing numbers of constituents brought to his attention complaints about A&E units and ambulance services throughout Merseyside.

When Labour left office, A&E was performing well with 98% of patients seen within four hours. But since the 2010 general election, the number of patients waiting over four hours has more than doubled and ambulance queues have doubled as well.

In the week after it emerged that the Royal Liverpool and Aintree University hospitals diverted ambulances to other hospitals as their A&Es struggled to cope with demand, Labour has called an opposition day debate in Parliament tomorrow to discuss the A&E crisis.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Bill said: "Here in Sefton Central patients and hospitals are paying the price for David Cameron’s mismanagement of the NHS and for his decision to proceed with a top-down reorganisation that he promised wouldn’t happen.

"Staff at A&E are clearly working flat out but cuts elsewhere in the NHS and in council social services are causing a crisis in A&E.

"We have seen the direct impact of the Tory-Lib Dem's policies on our NHS right here in Merseyside. I have been warning for months that there is a growing A&E crisis - what we saw last week at the Royal and at Aintree hospital was evidence of that.

"During tomorrow's Parliamentary debate, I will be repeating my call for urgent action to bring all A&Es up to the required standard and ensure that there are enough staff on the ground across the NHS to provide the safe care that we need."

Labour's Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham said the Tories and Lib Dems were failing to tackle the crisis that they themselves have caused.

Andy said: "This is a crisis of David Cameron’s own making. Instead of casting round for others to blame, David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt need to accept responsibility and develop an urgent plan to relieve the pressure.

“The Government’s devastating cuts to budgets for elderly care are a major cause of the A&E crisis. Fewer older people are getting the care they need at home, meaning more are having to be admitted to hospital, and more get stuck in hospital beds at the end of their treatment because the help isn’t there at home.

“David Cameron and his Health Secretary have been caught looking for scapegoats instead of solutions. They need to cut the spin and get a grip without delay."

Sign up for updates from Bill Esterson

This site/account was established while I was a Member of Parliament. As Parliament has been dissolved there are no Members of Parliament until after the Election on 07 May 2015. Promoted by and on behalf of the Labour Party at One Brewer's Green, London SW1H 0RH